When I came up with the term Bastard Nation, I was thinking along the lines of Queer Nation, Act Up!, and the Greens. My political sensibilities lean toward Yippie! "Ladies Against Women" who were active against the Reagan regime in the 1980s, and the pro-choice group, "Pussies for Choice." A re-read of "Steal This Book!" by the godfather of all us bastards, Abbie Hoffman, is a worthwhile endeavor for any Bastard seeking to overthrow the closed system. We have to have some fun with our social status and heritage.

When I end my letters with "By Any Means Necessary" (or sometimes I switch it to "By all means necessary" depending upon how I feel), I am dead serious. Mass burnings of amended birth certificates, PETA-type actions, hit-and-run operations against the Gladney set-ups, "practical jokes" on social workers, crank letters to legislators, solidarity with adoptees in Greece and Spain who have demanded access to their records, heritage, and histories. It's all up to us. Power is not given; it is taken.

For those of you dear readers who may think that I had a terrible adoption experience, I did not. But the closed adoption system is a system of lies which would not be tolerated in any other forum. For instance, in most of the western world the spouses or children of alcoholics would not be encouraged by an entire legal and social system to believe that alcoholism is "normal", nor would victims of spousal abuse be told to put up and shut up, and be grateful for what they have. It is only with closed adoption where lies and secrecy are condoned, that people are expected to swallow a big fat lie. Frankly, I am perfectly content to have been adopted by my parents. Being the product of rape, I didn't exactly have the greatest start in life. What I am angry about, and I believe nearly all adoptees are angry about, is the secrecy = shame context of the closed adoption system.

While I realize that many adoptees sit out the battle, many of us do not. Many adoptees find the information and/or person they are looking for, fold up their tent, and go home, leaving the others behind to struggle for the rights that everyone else in this country is free to utilize. The road from personal to political can be rough, and each person must go at their own pace. While each of us possesses a "personal" adoption agenda, it is imperative that we cross that line from the personal to the political. This does not mean that we cannot continue an on-going personal process, but that we can incorporate it into a movement to help our contemporaries as well as those who come after us.

By any means necessary
Marley
Bastard Nation